If you’ve ever found yourself scrolling through various Instagram profiles, you’ve likely come across a nifty feature called Instagram Stories Highlights. Positioned just below the bio section, Story Highlights have become an essential marketing tool for capturing attention and promoting one’s brand effectively.
Located beneath your Instagram profile bio, Highlights serve as curated collections of your Stories—both old and new—that remain easily accessible for users to scroll through indefinitely. Instagram Highlights empower you to exercise complete control over the topics you wish to emphasize and the Stories you choose to include, making them a potent marketing tool for expressing your brand identity and conveying core messages to followers.
Instagram Stories Highlights are indispensable for any business aiming to maximize its presence on the social media platform. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get started.
Before embarking on Highlights, ensure that your Instagram account is set to automatically archive your Stories. This guarantees that all your Stories are saved and available to be added to your Instagram Stories Highlights.
To activate this feature, navigate to Settings and Privacy, then scroll down to Archiving and Downloading. Ensure that the “Save story to archive” option is toggled on.
Once the setting is confirmed, you can proceed to create your first Instagram Highlight. There are two methods to achieve this.
Open your profile on the mobile app and tap the + or New button under the “Story highlights” section.
Select the Stories you wish to include in the Highlight. Note that each Highlight can include up to 100 Stories. Tap Next when finished.
Title your Highlight and edit the cover image.
Tap Add, and you’re done!
View the active Story you want to add to a Highlight.
Tap on the Highlight button in the bottom right corner of your Story.
Title your new Instagram Stories Highlight and tap Add.
To make adjustments to your Highlight, press and hold the Highlight on your Instagram profile and select the “Edit highlight” option. From there, you can edit the name and cover photo of the Highlight, as well as add or remove the Stories included.
When naming your Highlights, aim for brevity and impact. While there’s a 15-character limit, be mindful that the title displayed on your profile gets truncated at around nine characters. Single words, acronyms, and emojis have become popular strategies to convey more with less in a Highlight’s title.
Covers play a vital role in conveying the essence of each Highlight. Positioned as the static image within the circle of a Highlight, covers serve as a compelling way to capture visitors’ interest, communicate the content of each Highlight, and reinforce your brand identity.
Creating compelling highlight covers or names is the first step in attracting users to your highlights. However, the content within your highlights is even more crucial to sustaining engagement. Select Instagram highlight categories that resonate with your audience to increase the likelihood of retaining viewers on your Stories.
Retention rate, a key metric, indicates the percentage of Story viewers who stay through any given frame. According to a Report, the median retention rate for the fourth frame of the day is 81%. This metric provides insights into your Stories’ engagement level, reflecting the interest of your followers.
Here are eight ideas to leverage Story highlights for increased engagement on Instagram:Pin Exciting Announcements: Keep significant news at the top of your Instagram profile by creating a Highlight for major announcements, ensuring followers can easily access and learn about important events.
Highlight Products: Showcase products or messages you want to emphasize, ensuring that visitors quickly learn about key offerings when they land on your page.
Be a Source of Inspiration: Compile creative ways customers can use your product or service, creating an idea bank for regular access and interaction.
Provide Educational Resources: Compile useful information about your product, brand, or industry into an organized Highlight for continued engagement beyond the initial 24-hour period.
Showcase Multiple Locations: If you have a physical presence, use Story highlights to share different locations, providing exact addresses or locations for potential visits.
Answer FAQs: Create Highlights dedicated to frequently asked questions or address various topics, serving as a valuable resource for curious customers.
Go Behind the Scenes: Offer a behind-the-scenes look at your brand’s processes or culture, building credibility and sparking conversations.
Showcase Positive Reviews & Testimonials: Create a Highlight to showcase positive customer reviews, including video testimonials or written reviews.
To ensure that your efforts contribute to your goals, monitor the performance of your Instagram Stories Highlights. As Highlights consist of Stories, measuring their success involves examining your Story analytics.
Retention Rate: Indicates how engaging your content is by revealing the percentage of viewers who stay through any given frame of a Story.
Story Reach Rate: Calculated by dividing Story viewers by your follower count, this rate shows the percentage of your followers seeing your Stories. Highlights contribute to an extended lifespan of Stories.
Tap-Forward Rate: Measures the percentage of impressions where viewers tap forward to the next photo or video, indicating engagement.
Tap-Back Rate: Reflects the percentage of impressions where viewers tap backward to view the previous photo or video again, signifying interest.
Reply Rate: Represents the percentage of Story viewers who replied to your frame, indicating attention-grabbing content.
Exit Rate: Indicates the percentage of impressions exiting your Stories, suggesting potential disengagement.
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Q1: What are Instagram Stories Highlights?
A1: Instagram Stories Highlights are curated collections of both old and new Stories, located under your Instagram profile bio. They offer an effective way to extend the lifespan of your Stories beyond the original 24-hour limit, providing a powerful marketing tool for brand expression.
Q2: How do I create an Instagram Stories Highlight?
A2: You can create an Instagram Stories Highlight by going to your profile, tapping the “+” or New button under the “Story highlights” heading, selecting the Stories you want to include, titling your Highlight, and adding a cover image. Alternatively, you can create a Highlight from an active Story by tapping on the Highlight button.
Q3: Can I edit my Instagram Stories Highlights?
A3: Yes, you can edit your Instagram Stories Highlights by tapping and holding the Highlight on your profile and selecting the “Edit highlight” option. This allows you to edit the name, cover photo, and add or remove Stories.
Q4: What should I consider when naming and designing covers for my Highlights?
A4: Keep Highlight names short and impactful, considering the 15-character limit. Design covers strategically to convey the essence of each Highlight. Note that covers are automatically arranged from the most recently updated to the least on your profile.
Q5: Can I use custom covers for Instagram Stories Highlights?
A5: Yes, you can use custom covers for Instagram Stories Highlights. While Instagram defaults to using the earliest-dated Story as the cover, you have the option to upload your own customized covers using graphic design applications like Canva and Adobe Express.
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